As much as I’ve enjoyed the warm weather this summer, I couldn’t be happier that autumn has finally arrived. Fall has always been my favorite season of the year, bringing about the anticipation of a new school year, heralding the changing of colors, the return of the crispness in the twilight air, and the anticipation of the holiday season. With the new crops of apples coming in, I look forward to enjoying them as much as possible.

Today I’m sharing a simple recipe for a Cinnamon Apple Dutch Baby to usher in the season, easily prepared in the morning for breakfast or topped with ice cream as a light dessert. Dutch babies, with their high ratio of eggs to flour, are akin to popovers and yorkshire pudding and puff up dramatically in the oven and collapse when cooled, allowing you to top it off with your favorite syrup or just a light dusting of powdered sugar.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. In a large cast iron skillet (or any oven-proof skillet) over medium heat, melt the butter and add in the sliced apples and sauté for several minutes, until the apples begin to soften. Add in the cinnamon and brown sugar and continue to sauté until the apples are golden brown and the sugar melts and begins to caramelize.

2. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs together and add the flour and milk and whisk until combined. When the apples are softened and covered in a lovely golden brown sauce, pour the batter over the apple mixture and place the skillet into the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the pancake puffs up and is golden brown.

3. Remove the pancake from the oven, sprinkle with lemon juice and powdered sugar generously or top with maple syrup and serve immediately.

All photos by Beverly Wang for Dearest Nature

About Beverly Wang

Beverly is a web applications developer living in lovely Southern California. When she's not writing code, you'll probably find her in the kitchen or out capturing moments of her daily life with her camera. Never content to sit still, she always finds herself trying to do ten things at once. She believes that good food, made with love and from scratch, is the panacea for all ills.